Current Issue of IWMagazine at IWMagazine.com! http://www.iwmagazine.com/current_issue.cfm 604 - 2010-06-01 00:00:00 Frédérique Constant expands with more in-house offerings and by reaching out to new audien http://www.iwmagazine.com/current_issue_detail.cfm/ArticleID/604/ 607 - 2010-06-01 00:00:00 At the Rolex 24, the rain didn't deter the fans from enjoying a day of GT and DP racing http://www.iwmagazine.com/current_issue_detail.cfm/ArticleID/607/ 605 - 2010-06-01 00:00:00 With newly absorbed Gérald Genta and Daniel Roth resources, Bulgari's family tree just got http://www.iwmagazine.com/current_issue_detail.cfm/ArticleID/605/ 606 - 2010-06-01 00:00:00 Panerai is designed in Milan and made in two high-tech Swiss facilities (with plans for an http://www.iwmagazine.com/current_issue_detail.cfm/ArticleID/606/ 610 - 2010-06-01 00:00:00 TAG Heuer’s newest gift to the racing world is a partnership with Tesla Motors, the California-based electric sports car company. At BaselWorld this past March, TAG Heuer president Jean-Cristophe Babin and Tesla CEO Elon Musk presented the face of their partnership: an “Odyssey of Pioneers” historic round-the-world tour in a zero-emission car. The tour centers around the Tesla TAG Heuer Roadster, a one-of-a-kind collector’s car that incorporates TAG Heuer styling elements, the new TAG Heuer Pendulum concept (fitted into the removable console) and other timepieces.The partnership highlights TAG Heuer’s commitment to forward thinking, which includes consideration of environmental concerns. Expanding on other “green” efforts, which include a partnership with climate change-activist and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, the high-visibility “Odyssey of Pioneers” tour places the company in the driver’s seat of social responsibility.On its six-month, 37,000-kilometer (24,000 mile) journey, the Tesla Roadster will travel to fifteen major cities and more than 150 smaller towns. Final stops include Beijing, Shanghai, and Tokyo, major American hotspots Los Angeles, Miami, and New York, and London before concluding in Paris in October at another celebrity gala. The tour, TAG Heuer describes “has become a valuable means of connecting with customers and fans who want to connect with their preferred brands on an individual and emotional level.”Not to be lost in the Roadster excitement are eighteen TAG Heuer watches it is featuring in the road show. The newest and most important timepiece in the collection is the Carrera 1887, the premiere chronograph fitted with the firm’s new Caliber 1887 in-house chronograph movement. The caliber The Carrera 1887 is TAG’s timepiece version of the Tesla Roadster. Unlike traditional movements, which continually amass energy, the Calibre 1887 movement only stores as much energy as needed, ensuring less stress on the movement and greater longetivity. http://www.iwmagazine.com/current_issue_detail.cfm/ArticleID/610/ 608 - 2010-06-01 00:00:00 Ever since enterprising watch observers discovered last year that President Obama wears a Jorg Gray Series 6500 chronograph he received as a gift from the White House Secret Service (as International Watch reported last April), the brand has been expanding its timepiece offerings. CEO Trevor Gnesin, whose custom manufacturing firm LogoMark developed the brand, says Jorg Gray now offers a wide range of largely sporty watches, most priced around $300, and is about to launch a new collection featuring Swiss quartz movements. iW: What features will be the focus of the newest collection of Jorg Gray watches?Gnesin: The new Jorg Gray line focuses heavily on standout chronographs—slick styles and materials—and features only Swiss movements.  We’ve also worked on an entire ladies’ collection that we’re very proud of.Will you continue to advertise and use the Obama watch as an integral part of the collection?The Jorg Gray 6500 Chronograph will always be a part of the brand’s history and the Commemorative Edition, as will the rest of the 6500 series. The watch has been well-received around the world, allowing us to expand our brand and create this new collection; we can’t let that go.   Why change to Swiss movements?Our jewelers have been asking us to add Swiss movements to our line and timing was right for this collection. Will the upgrade change the retail prices?  Yes, with upgraded materials like Swiss movements and sapphire crystals, there will be an increase in price; however, the quality of the watches will still go beyond the retail price. Ultimately, we aim to make the highest quality watches at a highly competitive price, and believe we’ve continued to do so with this line. To whom does the brand appeal?The brand really appeals to buyers across the board, but especially to men 25-55.  The Jorg Gray consumer is price conscious, but not willing to give up quality, style and value in their timepiece. That’s the best thing about our collection--—the variety ensures a watch for every personality and occasion while still maintaining moderate price points. http://www.iwmagazine.com/current_issue_detail.cfm/ArticleID/608/ 609 - 2010-06-01 00:00:00 Take 250 or so wanna-be racers, add around sixty or so abused old piles of steel, glass and rubber (worth less than $500, please), add gas, and presto – you’ve got LeMons. The 24 Hours of LeMons to be precise. Open to almost anyone, the rules are simple. Run your heap from eighteen hours to twenty-four hours around one of the race’s various Connecticut tracks and take your best shot at the Grand Prix. In this case the prize is $1,500 (in newly minted American nickels) for the overall first, with various prizes for other categories.A few months ago, my friend Lee, a.k.a. Speedy, tells me he already has a car that qualifies. For not too much money, he says we can go racing.  I’m in.  Our entry for this race is a 1994 Honda Accord with a bashed-in front end. No problem for Speedy, as his expertise in auto body repair and mechanics will turn lemons into lemonade. After we print out the safety rules, co-driver and co-worker Stu Hubbard fixed the wiring and Speedy did some welding—and much more.  I was more of a grunt. I did oil and fluid changes and duct tape work. Like so many in the watch business, I then signed up a sponsor—locally based NFW Watches, which is run by George Fox, also a race fan. Good clean funThis race series is all about fun. Paint the cars as crazy as you can, glue rubber ducks all around your car and drive in a chicken suit if you dare. Safety of both car and driver is clearly enforced but the ethos of the race is if you’re not in it to have fun—go somewhere else.Even though the atmosphere in the paddock and pit area may be lightweight and fun, once on-track, it’s all about passing the guy in front of you— and that can bring out the worst in some people. Whether done consciously or inadvertently, certain actions on the track may call for a black flag. As in all racing, the black flag means you, and only you, get off the track and get to the penalty area.  Small offenses earlier in the race may just get a “stop and go.” In this race, however, that doesn’t mean simply to leave the race for a period of time. It means you’ve been penalized and need to pay for your offense—with cash. Drivers may have to get the stewards breakfast or lunch (you learn to carry cash in your suit), wait for them to eat it, and only then return to the race. If a penalized driver isn’t asked to buy a meal, his team may be asked to create a spectacle. That can mean, for instance, to wear lingerie or put on pig noses and parade up and down the paddocks as you let the fans take your picture (see opposite page). Second and third offenses get worse. Much worse.Our driver, Black Flag Tommy, at first offense got a quick slap on the wrist. A few dollars in bribe money for lunch and he’s on his way. Moments later, he’s back with a second black flag, and then twenty minutes later gets hit with another. The penalty? Long-term parking, where you get to wait up to four hours while you watch the rest of the field add laps to their own total.  Watch that “gift”I may not have been much help in the garage but I know when it’s my time to shine. I immediately grab one of the watches supplied by our sponsor and reverently approach the officials who hold our freedom to race in their hands. When I ask about the length of the penalty for our gold ’94 Honda stuck in long-term parking, the scowls and looks of reproach I get in return tell me they are clearly tired of black flagging Team NFW. I then pull the head official over, meekly apologize and promise our drivers will behave. Recalling my decades in the watch business, I dramatically open the box I’ve been carrying and offer alms in the form of a brand-new NFW chronograph wristwatch.  Long-term parking penalty is over. A chastened but racing Team NFW is back on the track.Mostly clean running ensued and, with only a few hiccups with tire and brake issues, we managed to finish sixteenth in our category and twenty-fourth overall. Maybe not the podium—but who wants to lug all those nickels around anyway? At least we finished, and had a ball in the process. http://www.iwmagazine.com/current_issue_detail.cfm/ArticleID/609/